The Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area boasts an abundance of kid-approved hotels, attractions and restaurants. So if you and your brood are heading to the Twin Cities, here are a few suggestions for a fun-filled Minnesota vacation.

STAY: The Depot, a modern multi-use complex centered on the 19th-century Milwaukee Road Depot, is home to two family-friendly lodgings in Minneapolis’ Riverfront District. Offering historic suites in the former train station, The Depot Minneapolis, A Renaissance Hotel is the perfect choice for parents with a sophisticated history buff or railroad enthusiast in their midst.
For families that include a few wannabe guppies, there’s the Residence Inn Milwaukee Road Depot, whose 15,000-square-foot water park flaunts a three-story indoor/outdoor waterslide. The all-encompassing Depot compound also features dining facilities and an eye-catching seasonal indoor ice rink; plus, it’s within walking distance to the Mill City Museum, where interactive displays and live demonstrations convey Minneapolis’ past life as the “Flour Milling Capital of the World.”

Another hotel with a built-in water park is the suburban Radisson Hotel Bloomington by Mall of America. Dubbed the Water Park of America, the Radisson’s splashy indoor space includes a lazy river, a surfing simulator, a wave pool and a family raft ride.

PLAY: The Radisson Hotel is located across from the nation’s largest combined shopping and entertainment center, the Mall of America. Though best known as a retail powerhouse selling everything from colorful Lego bricks to upscale kids’ apparel, the super-sized site has fun written all over its 96-plus acres. SpongeBob and his aquatic friends welcome captivated adolescents to Nickelodeon Universe, a whimsical theme park located at the mall’s core. In contrast, sand tiger sharks taunt nervous spectators passing through a submerged 300-foot glass tunnel at the Minnesota Sea Life Aquarium.

Good times are pretty much guaranteed at Valleyfair, an amusement park located about 23 miles southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Shakopee. Daredevil teens earn bragging rights on a multitude of thrill rides, including Wild Thing, which lays claim to the longest low-gravity section of any coaster in the world.

From late May to early September, perpetually pruney youngsters can dive right in at Soak City, a 7-acre water park included in Valleyfair’s general admission price. The best fit for your smallest tots is Planet Snoopy, where such family rides as Charlie Brown’s Wind Up, Lucy’s Tugboat and Woodstock Whirlybirds salute the beloved comic strip gang created by St. Paul native Charles M. Schulz.

Speaking of Charlie Brown and Co., downtown St. Paul’s Rice Park and Landmark Plaza shelter bronze likenesses of the cartoon characters—from tomboyish Patricia “Peppermint Patty” Reichardt kicking a football to a smitten Lucy van Pelt, enthusiastically draped on the edge of Schroeder’s piano.

Many a rambunctious boy and girl can be seen clambering about the “Peanuts” sculptures during the Flint Hills International Children's Festival, organized by the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (the cultural facility borders Rice Park at 345 Washington St.). The six-day summertime event features indoor and outdoor activities, visual arts demonstrations, a parade and more.

While you’re exploring the state capital, hit up the Minnesota Children’s Museum, which keeps the inquisitive entertained with five permanent exhibit areas packed with hands-on educational displays. Or, head to Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, whose state-of-the-art Polar Bear Odyssey—spotlighting the antics of peanut butter-loving brothers Buzz and Neil—captures the attention of both the young and the young at heart. Meanwhile, at the Minnesota Zoo, located about 16 miles southwest of St. Paul in Apple Valley, kids need little encouragement to “Do the Waddle” (http://www.dothewaddle.com/) at the new 3M Penguins of the African Coast exhibit.

EAT: Unless your wee ones have atypical palates, such pervasive local chains as Punch Neapolitan Pizza and Pizza Luce are no-brainers when tiny bellies start rumbling. Drawing from fond childhood memories of Milan, Italy, John Soranno cooked up the idea for Punch in the mid-1990s. Today, his Neapolitan pizzas are baked in wood-burning, bell-shaped brick ovens at seven Midwestern locations, including the original Punch at 704 Cleveland Ave. in St. Paul. Also scattered throughout the Twin Cities are spinoffs of toppings-crazed Pizza Luce, which first started serving up loaded gourmet pies at 119 N. 4th St. in downtown Minneapolis in 1993.

With its Western décor, Bar Abilene in hip Uptown Minneapolis is a popular lunch choice for trendy natives toting pint-sized buckaroos. On Sundays, the waitstaff will even rustle up some free grub for cowpokes under the age of 11 (with the purchase of an adult entrée). Or, if you plan to spend the day at the Mall of America, make reservations for lunch, dinner, brunch or afternoon tea at American Girl Bistro, which caters to little ladies and their favorite plastic gal pals.